Travel

So, In my previous post, I promised that I will tell you all about my decision to ride to Lithuania and back, on a motorbike that, at the time, I’ve been riding for less than a month.

After demanding three weeks of holiday from my previous job, I decided to spend it with my father in the countryside of Lithuania. Problem was that I waited too long to buy the flight tickets and three days before my first day of holiday I decided not to pay £250 for a 12-hour return flight to Lithuania. Instead, I had a spontaneous idea that I should motorbike across seven countries. Starting from England and going through France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland and arriving in Lithuania. It’s roughly 1500 miles to my destination when avoiding the motorways. What could go wrong?

The Decision

My decision didn’t have much thought or research behind it, it never does. I just google mapped the route and only told my parents that I was going on the motorbike. My mum, of course, had a heart attack but my father said “Hell yea!”. Then, I whizzed around London for two days looking for and buying the necessities I knew I’d have to have. I did an oil and battery change on my bike and bought some bungee straps to fit my luggage on the back of it. Seeing as I was planning to camp along with my route, I bought a mini stove for days where I could not make a fire. The plan was flawless.

Way there

Sunday finally arrived, the day I had to dispatch. Of course, I had to have a morning shift on the bar that day. Why would it be any other way? As a result, I had to book a fairy for 10 pm. Arrival to France was past midnight so I decided to book a hotel room for my first night. I did not want to look for a camping spot in the dark, in a country I’m not familiar with. The following day, my trip truly began. I was woken up by a hotel attendant as I overslept. I had a couple of coffees and set off for Belgium where I had my first night out in the woods. On the second day, I rode through Netherlands and halfway into Germany.

Near Hanover, is where I had my first ever fall. My bike fell from under me when turning on a bit of gravel. Seeing as I got away with small scratches on my knee and palms, I was more worried about the bike as it fell onto its exhaust side. After parking up, inspecting my bike and kissing my own booboos. I set off to find my second camping spot.

The following day I made it all the way to Poland. Crossing the border was super sketchy. I found myself transitioning from seamless roads to gravel and potholes in a blink of an eye. After my fall in Germany, I thought that it would take me 8 days to ride through Poland at 10mph. But, further into the country, roads got a fair bit better and my worries faded. By evening, I found myself in Grudziadz. I was lazy and found some excuses to book a hotel. In the shower, I discovered a tick on my ribs. A little politician-like parasite that buries its head under your skin and bloat itself up with blood until it literally can no longer walk. Disgusting fellas. It can be tricky pulling them out. You must gently, grab it closest to its head and carefully twist its neck until it lets go. Then you burn the devil.

Lithuania

The following night was my arrival to Lithuania. The countryside building where I would stay for two weeks belongs to a hunter. Although, he does not live there. My father looks after this place and uses it as a workshop for his woodwork. Its a beautiful, old-fashioned structure in a middle of a Forrest. It has an ancient wood and stone sauna right next to the lake. There is nothing like getting but naked in the sauna and running out into a nice cool lake for a swim.

The following two weeks I spent there, was working with my dad and hunting with the hunter. I made myself a bushcraft knife and a leather shieth to go with it. Had some good practice skinning and splitting a wild boar and a rabbit.

It was very therapeutic to spend some time away from the city and its distractions, working with my hands and having the time to think and decide what to do next.

Return

On the way back, it was a similar story as the way there. Before I left Lithuania I had to change my back tyre. Trouble was that my bike is quite small and it is hard to find the right tyres for it in Lithuania. I ended up having to purchase a second-hand nylon tyre from a market. I don’t even know why they make nylon tyres as they are a death trap. That tyre was the reason for the greatest fall I ever had.

In Poland, somewhere near Swiebodzin, I rode in fast-moving traffic at around 40mph. It started to rain and in a blink of an eye, I was sliding. I remember opening my eyes while on the ground. I looked around and realise what just happened. My bike was on top of my leg, there was a car in front of me and a car behind me. To my left cars were moving even faster. I could feel the rainwater building up against my shoulder as I slid down the road. This was where I closed my eyes and thought to myself “let’s just slide it out”. I don’t know how long the bike was riding me, but it felt like a few Mississippis.

When it finally came to a stop I realised how lucky I was. I didn’t hit anybody and I got away with some road rash on my hip and my jacket was torn. Inspecting the bike was not so fun. My left handlebar was bent inwards. After a few minutes, I had realised that my phone popped out of the handlebar holster. That thing was a mess, the bike must have been sliding on top of it the entire time I was down.

So here I was, in Poland, on a Sunday evening, with a bent handlebar and no map. The sun was setting and shops were closed. There was nowhere I could camp so I had to move on. I decided to jump on the motorway and by night I made it all the way to Berlin. On the outskirts of the capital was where I camped.

I must have camped on private property as in the morning I was greeted by a nice German fella. We spoke in sign language, but I’m sure that he was telling me that I could not camp here. I explained to him my situation, so he left me be. I took off shortly after and when I arrived at the closest city I bought a new phone and was back on track.

I managed to make it to the fairy with a few hours to spare. A beautiful girl at the passport check let me go onto the earlier boat. I felt blessed.

Recollection

I do regret not taking any photographs during my travels. I was simply enjoying the ride with my own two eyes. On the way there and back I saw some beautiful scapes and details. I could have built an entire arsenal of images around them. But, at the time, I felt pressed for time, I set myself a timeframe of 3 days riding and I had to get there. On the way back it was a similar situation, I had a fairy to be on. In Lithuania, it felt unfair to my father, to leave early or disappear for hours taking photos. So, I just left my camera aside. This was my first, long-term motorcycle trip so I had to do it by myself. Documenting it was not on my mind as I had to explore my abilities and limits. Now that I know what I can endure and what my bike is capable of. I will most certainly have a few more trips, very soon.

Return To Seven Sisters Cliffs

The first time that I tried to photograph at Seven Sisters Cliffs near Eastbourne. I failed miserably. This was partly due to the limitations I had in terms of my kit – and the fact that I was not fully used to my new camera. Most of all, I failed because I did not stop to think and compose my shots the way I would have liked them. I was like a child in the candy store. Taking all that I could and decide what I like later. That is not the way I want to work. So, I took it upon myself to rid of this indecisive ‘one more shot’ sickness.

Ever since that first trip, I told myself that. If I’m not sure that I like the composition, I won’t be taking a photograph. I applied this motto to all of the photo sessions that I had. Slowly but surely I reduced the number of bad photos I took. This also forced me to think deeper into my images. When I would come across a scene where I knew it had a composition present. But I would struggle to find it through the lens, I would question why. I would find the elements that I did not like and figure out a way to eliminate them from those that I did.

I believe that an exercise like that will improve your workflow and ability to ‘see through the lens’.

Correcting My Flaws

On my way back to Seven Sisters Cliffs. I had an idea for some of the subject matter I would focus on. I knew that I wanted a photo of the lighthouse, an image of the seascape and that I wanted some abstraction and simplicity shots along the beach. But, all of the above had to be composed on the spot.

I would not allow myself to take numerous images of the same subject matter unless the lighting was a changing constantly. Even then, I would try and anticipate for the breaks in the cloud that would improve the image. I would not run around the same subject, thoughtlessly snapping away at the shutter. However, a small number of intended variations was permitted.

Following the rules above, I took a lot fewer images. But, more of them are usable. I can say with confidence, that I feel more pride when showing these as I know that they are as intended.

Lighthouse

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

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Here are 4 variations of the lighthouse. Taken throughout different times of the day.

Seascape

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

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These are 4 seascape images I liked the most.

Simplicity And Abstraction

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

Seven Sisters Cliffs

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Here are 5 of the simple and abstract images I picked out along the beach.

Post-Production Notes

If you have been reading some of my earlier posts, you might know that I am no fan of postproduction. Hence, I have a straight out the camera style. I exercise the perfection of my images by perfecting my composition. I attempt to better induce emotion through colour by customising my white balance settings and picture profiles. My post production usually consists of a couple of brush strokes to improve the image dynamic range, clarity, vibrancy and saturation to my liking.

Lake District is a magnificent place. Besides me losing a quarter of my leg in a ‘life or death’ battle with a polar bear whom I beat with the pencil I kept in one of my pockets, I had a magnificent time. The trip did not turn out to be so much of a photography trip as it was raining, snowing and hailing on most days.

My trip turned out to be a rough endurance of the unforgiving elements. Which, in of itself, was a great thrill for me. Although there were moments I was doubting my decision and swearing at the universe. The moments were short lived.

Experience

On the 9 hour coach up to Lake District, I realised that it is going to take me through the national park rather than around it. So, I decided to jump off in Keswick rather than heading all the way to Cockermouth. My decision was based not only on my inability to sit down for any longer but also the convenience of the journey. Although, these towns are only a few miles apart. Keswick is withing the Lake District national park where as Cockermouth is on the outskirts.

On the day that I arrived, the weather was beautiful, skies were clear and stars were shining brightly. Unfortunately, I did not have time to take photos as it was way past sunset and my priority was to find a suitable site to camp and gain some rest before the long journey.

Shortly after setting up camp it began to rain. From that moment forward, it did not stop for longer than half an hour per day. The intensity of the downpour changed but for the first six days, there was not a day that it stopped. The winds came out to play after my second night – and Lord knows that they were brutal. I began my third night by constantly having to re-peg my tent and woke up the following morning on a significant puddle under it. Everywhere was flooded, new rivers emerged from the mountains – and I was in the middle of it all.

I watched the puddle under my tent get larger and larger while debating with myself if I should move the camp through this storm or try to wait it out until the following morning – to be met with uncertainty. It was clear that I had to power through it and find a campsite elsewhere in the mountains. I looked at my map and saw that I was roughly 8 miles from Buttermere. Although it would include a few miles of backtrack before a steady climb up into a high valley – I decided to head that way with high hopes to reach the town by sundown.

That, of course, did not happen. By the time I reached the peak of the valley, it was dark, I was tired, rains turned into hail and winds blew me sideways. I had to find a flat spot and set up camp in the worst possible area. This night was my first moment of hatred towards all things under the sun. After having to set up the tent in the winds of God knows how many MPH, climbing into my wet tent and drying it off before a miraculous discovery that most of my backpack contents got wet including my clothes, sleep mat and a portion of my sleeping bag, I was furious.

The following day, I got up early and headed towards Buttermere with the hope that there would be a launderette of some sort. Perhaps, a bus that would take me further into the national park. I lost so much time in the bad weather and I needed to make up for it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any of that. Busses start running from May and town is too small for communal launderettes.
A good lady at the local tea room pointed me towards a hostel and a campsite nearby. So, I headed for the campsite. There, I stayed alone for two nights drying off all the contents of my backpack, inside the communal cabin. Every single thing was soaked, from my clothes to my camera. Even my waterproofs were not waterproof enough to withstand three days of rain.

I used the time at the campsite to regain my energy. I read and ate a lot. Also, I finally polished off and attached a handle to one of my blades. That’s something I have been meaning to do for quite some time, I just have to die the wood now.

After my stay at the campsite, I managed to find a fella who was willing to drive me back to Keswick. From Keswick, I took a bus down to Windermere where I spent the first night in the hostel. There I met two very nice travellers with amazing stories. The following three days, the weather had improved. Although winds were strong and on one of the days it snowed and rained. I tried to spend my time focussing on photography rather than survival. After all, it was the images that I wanted the most. It was far easier to focus on the image making when you’re not lugging around a massive backpack. So, on two out of three days, I left my backpack at the hostel and took buses to various areas where I thought it would make a good image.

Photography

Because I only had two days where it did not rain or hail, I didn’t manage to take many images. Which, really is a shame. I was hoping to get some of my best work from Lake District but I guess something else out there thought otherwise. At least during my this trip.

During my stay at Windermere. On the good days, I woke up early and took a bus to a variety of locations and walked back towards town, whilst heading off-road, climbing mountains and exploring the landscape. The scenery out there is absolutely stunning and I saw so many compositions that could have worked so well. If only the weather had been cooperating with me.

The issue with landscape photography often is that we have no control over certain important aspects, such as light and to some extent subject matter. Arriving upon a scene and attempting to capture it, you can’t help to wonder how it would be. If the sun was in a different location, the clouds presented a different formation or how the light shining on any particular part of the landscape could affect the image. Hence we always have to keep on going back under different conditions and times of the day. Sadly this was not and option I was presented with this time.

Final Words

I absolutely love Lake District. In fact, I want to move out there. I am seriously considering to get me a driving license and move to Lake District area to spend the remainder of my time in England. The people are amazing, they are friendly. The costs are reasonably lower and a good amount of work seems to be going around. But, for now, that is just dream talk.

One thing for certain is that I will be heading back there in the next few months purely for taking images. Stay at a campsite or a hostel and travel only with my camera.

Today is the first day, of my two-week holiday. A well deserved holiday. After 9 months of voluntary slavery at a job, I do not like. It’s become far tougher forcing myself to stomach it just a little longer.
I have decided to use these two weeks to get out of the city and indulge in the things I love doing.

Seeing as I am still waiting for my passport to return from the UK government, hopefully with the approval of my permanent residency. I can not leave this country. So, tomorrow I will be heading up to Lake District National Park. This is where I will spend 10 days surrounded by nature and the elements. I will be camping out in the hills, indulging in bush-craft and photography.

Plan

My plan is to hike from Cockermouth all the way to Kendal through the magnificent landscapes of the national park. My route is roughly sketched out, hiking through Buttermere, past the Scafell Pike and Langdale valley, then through Grizedale and Newby Bridge and onto Kendal. The route is most likely to have some changes as I will be detouring, looking out for the oddities and the juxtaposition in the landscape. Perhaps I’ll even follow up on the suggestions some of the locals might give me, in regard to those ‘gem’ locations. Hence, I have set aside several days for detours, off-roading, waits for right conditions and whatever else may befall my journey.

Predominantly, this journey will be a photographic endeavour. My aim is to explore and shoot the magnificent landscapes and with some luck, a bit of wildlife. I have never been to this particular national park, so, I hardly know what to expect. Mostly, I will be winging it. But, unlike my trip to Seven Sisters Cliffs, I will have much more time to slow down and really think about my images.

Equipment

I will be bringing only the essentials for this journey. I will be out there for only ten days. So, I’m not too worried about the survival aspect. Although broken bones, hyperthermia and navigation are very real risks. I can assure you with confidence that I am competent enough to either avoid or face up to the potential misfortunes and realise the solution that my situation may dictate.

The garments and survival equipment that I am bringing with me is relatively basic. Waterproofs and quality garments knitted from wool, silk and polycotton. They will help me stay dry and warm at night.
A lightweight tent and sleep system, knife, cook set, ferrocerium rod, etc…

My real worry is the photography aspect. Although I’m going there for ten days, I am still limited to only ten days. So, I pray that light and weather conditions are on my side. I want the freedom to reach the best standpoints and more importantly, use my camera. The Pentax K1 and my new Pentax 28-105 lens should be able to stand up to the rain just fine. But, it isn’t going to be fun if it’s raining the entire time I am there. I am hoping for some weather transitions for more interesting conditions. But, you can never know so I would rather not worry about that. Furthermore, my Tamron lens is not weather sealed, it would be a shame to ruin it. Lastly, I would hate to ruin the new set of filters my good friend, and a talented filmmaker, Will Churchill (“aka” Optica Colubris) gifted me. Thanks to him, I finally have a working polarizer and a set of decent ND filters that I plan to use a lot in the future.

Final Words

I am very much so, looking forward to this trip. It has been many months since I’ve been camping and bush crafting. I can not wait to see what little, although beautiful nature the United Kingdom has to offer. I will most certainly travel around as many national parks in the UK as time and finance will allow me.

If you have been following me on my social media sites. Then you probably know that, a few weeks ago, I went to Seven Sisters Cliffs for a day of photography. Generally, I am extremely disappointed with myself. I know that I could have taken far better images than I did. But, not all was in vain. The day was educational, to say the least.

It helped me realise some things about my photography that I had not noticed or given a second thought before. And ultimately, it raised some issues with my workflow and equipment that I think must be improved.

Workflow

When I bought the tickets, I didn’t know anything about the location. I had never been there before so I did not know what to expect nor did I have any specific shots in mind. I just thought that I’ll wing it.

At first, I did not know whether I should go there overnight or just for a day’s trip. When I realised that I could walk the entire stretch comfortably in less than 12 hours, with some time to spare. I decided to take a train to Eastbourne and walk all the way to Seaford where my return train would be waiting on the same day. Today, I wish I hadn’t done that.

Furthermore, I was a loose cannon. On my walk along the Seven Sisters Cliffs. I had noticed in myself that I rarely stopped to choose and compose the shot that I want. I always doubted my chosen composition and ended up running around taking 20 images of the same subject, good and bad. So that I can pick the best one later.

I’m not saying that this is always a bad way to work, some flavours of photography require you to do this. Sometimes, you do just see this variety of equally good compositions of the same subject and you just can’t resist. In other cases, this can also be a very good exercise to help one see more variations of composition on any given subject.

But, this wasn’t the case for me. I doubted my decisions. Perhaps it was because I did not have the ‘story’ or ‘mood’ that I wanted to portray. Maybe I felt pressed for time. So, I acted somewhat carelessly in an attempt to take more good images.

Equipment

Usually, I am not the one to blame my equipment for a bad image. I tend to blame myself for not getting to know my equipment well enough before I go out and do something like this.

But the set of filters I have bought on eBay when I was first starting out is just awful. I would have been, better off without them on this shoot but I decided to take it anyway. Basing my decision on some of the previous images I have managed to capture using those filters. Whilst disregarding the circumstances and conditions I used them under and countless failed attempts at a good capture. I have made a rookie error once again.

Secondly, I limited myself to a 90mm lens for all of the images. But, there was just so much more to capture that I simply couldn’t either approach or step further back from. This really limited my creativity.

Furthermore, I have made some pretty embarrassing setting mistakes with my new Pentax that I refuse mentioning to spear me the public humiliation.

Bottom line

I was a loose cannon, and I partly blame this on my decision not to stay overnight and give myself more time to think and shoot. I was rushing to get to the coast closer to Seaford because I had planned to get some sunset images from there. But, as I arrived at the location, it was not as good as I imagined it to be. I wished that I shot the sunset from a location that I had passed already.

Secondly, the lack of clouds in the sky really put me off. They would have added interest to the images. But for the majority of the day, the sky was blue and I felt reluctant to include it in my images.

Never the less, I enjoyed it. The day turned out to be more of a location recce and a kick in the butt rather than a successful photography trip. Although I did get a few images that are decent, I’m not proud of these because most of them were taken by luck. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to Seven Sisters Cliffs. But, having looked trough the images recently, I am certain that I will. There is no way in hell that I am just going to let this failure fly.